selfish girls
by RipeningxxBruises
Summary: There are no platitudes in Hell.


Ty Lee whispers, "But you would hurt me so bad."

Azula is drugged up to ease pain and keep her helpless, and her head is too foggy to think about this. She made a decision, then Ty Lee took away that power, and Azula does not like to have her free will or her power taken from her, and Ty Lee had no right.

It was Azula's choice to end it, and Azula does not let people make choices for her.

Especially not Ty Lee. Especially not Ty Lee.

Be it for love or be it for dominance, Azula could not be angrier about what happened. But she is stuck talking to this bitch because she cannot get up out of her bed. Her bandages itch and her eyes droop and she has to listen to Ty Lee cry about something so ridiculous.

The conversation is inevitable. Azula knows that.

"I honestly do not care about inconveniencing you. I have no idea why you think I ever have or ever will," Azula says, straining to stay awake. She does not think she has ever been so tired, and Ty Lee is not making this any easier.

"And Zuko. Zuko would be devastated," Ty Lee adds, grasping at straws.

"Good," Azula says. She does not give a fuck if Zuko would _miss_ her or not. That is the _last_ thing she cares about.

Ty Lee sighs and Azula knows she will now know the truth.

"I feel like I did something wrong," Ty Lee whispers. Her eyes are wet.

"Why?" Azula asks.

"I'm supposed to be helping you and I think…"

"The _power of love_ is always unimpressive. This is no exception."

Ty Lee adjusts her position in her seat. She has to rethink this, but she can think of only one thing; how much it would devastate her to lose the woman lying in front of her.

"You're really selfish," Ty Lee whispers. She instantly regrets talking like that to Azula, but she thinks it needed to be said.

"You're really selfish for forcing me to live just because it makes _you_ happy. You want me to be alive so very much but you do nothing to make my life worth living. _You_ are the selfish one in this situation."

"Maybe I am," Ty Lee says, because she does not care if that is true. She wants what she wants and she will have it now. "People grow up and change. Things change."

" _Things change_. You never stop, do you? Not a single word you say matters to me, because you only say them to pretend you care."

Passionately, Ty Lee snarls, "I do care. I care so much. I care more than I ever have cared about anything in the world. It's all my fault."

Azula retains her apathy.

"It would remedy your need to relieve your guilt if I died," she says. "Do you not realize that?"

Ty Lee grabs Azula's numb hand and the princess does not have the energy to escape the hold. It feels kind of nice, to tell the truth.

"No," Ty Lee says, "because I would die. If you die, I die, and I am so not ready to die yet."

Azula does not know what to say or think. Ty Lee always _obeys_. That is who she is and that is how Azula likes her. Or at least how Azula thought she liked her.

It may be the blood loss, but Azula thinks Ty Lee standing up to her for the first time is extremely sexy.

Ty Lee can see that. She can feel it when she watches Azula breathe and decides that that girl will breathe forever. _Forever_.

"You would die if I died?" Azula believes Ty Lee, but she does not want to admit it to herself.

"Yeah. Of course _yeah_ ," Ty Lee says. "I'm sorry to get so angry and to be like this but I'm just scared and when I'm scared I sometimes get really angry and…"

"And?"

"None of this is helping. I'm not sorry I saved you, and I won't apologize for being selfish. I…" Ty Lee tries to think but her head hurts. "I see the world in a different way. I see all of the possibilities and opportunities and all of the reasons I want to live. Your perspective is less optimistic and I can't expect you to see it like I do. So if you think your life sucks, then your life sucks. Maybe things won't get better, but _I_ believe that. I'm not just _saying_ anything."

Azula has no idea if Ty Lee is protesting because she is guilty or protesting because she is innocent. It is far too hard to tell, but Ty Lee looks like she is on fire.

"Well, I would hate to impede on your unfinished business," Azula breathes. Staying awake is getting much harder, no matter how much her heart race. "I'll be here later. I want to go to sleep now, okay?"

Ty Lee does not budge.

"I'm not leaving."

Ty Lee starts to kiss Azula but turns away. Now is not the time, and Ty Lee knows she has stepped out of bounds. She is horrified by the fact that she was perfectly happy to confront Azula in order to prevent her death.

"Do people ever ask you why you stay with such a crazy and dreadful person?" Azula slurs, her breath slowing.

"All the time, and I tell them that I stay with you because I love you for some reason, and I remember so many years. So much. I know you and I know what I've gotten myself into. I'm not a complete airhead," Ty Lee whispers, her breath warming Azula's neck.

"Good to know," Azula says callously.

Her eyes begin to close.

She has to deal with this when not heavily drugged and missing half of her body's blood.

Ty Lee will be there.

She is far too selfish a person to leave Azula in peace.


End file.
